Uncertain

[cgolf08]

I am planning surgery within the next 6 weeks or so, and I plan to give it my all. I plan to eat well and exercise and everything the doctor asks me to do to be compliant, there are occasions where I wonder if I will struggle. I never planned on getting this obese, and like many others I had also 'planned' on many occasions to get back in to shape....Just wondering if others ever had similar type thoughts about whether they would always be able to comply. I have some doubt only because if I had 100% confidence I dont think I'd be here in the first place.

How did you over come this? Thanks.

[Truffles]

The sleeve, for me, is a built-in control for portion control. Portion control was where I always failed. Eating more healthy foods was a gradual thing for me, that spanned many years, so I haven't really had to change my diet all that much. As for exercise, well, I'm not there yet. To be quite frank, my weight loss is nice and steady so what I'm doing is working, for me. I don't want to interrupt it right now by adding in exercise. I know that sounds kind of odd.

When my weight starts to stabilize, I want to start with mild toning and cardio. I know my internal organs are not healthy and I want to get there. I don't want to be a skinny, unhealthy person. I had the sleeve surgery to get healthy. However, I also know myself very well and if I attack everything at once, my "plan" will fail because I cannot sustain it for very long, a few months at most. I figure it took time for me to get unhealthy, so I'll take time, the slow and steady approach, to get healthy.

Ultimately, it comes down to what works for you and how honest you are with yourself.

[aclabombard13]

Here's the thing..... Nobody's perfect, we're all human. Nobody is going to follow the dr to the letter. The fact is, unless your surgeon is a wls patient themselves, they really can't be realistic. You will have to find your own way and figure out a good balance that works for you. I didn't do this to be on a strict diet for the rest of my life, if I was capable of that, I wouldn't have needed the surgery. The one thing I strongly agree with my surgeon on though is the importance of exercise. I can not stress this enough, make it a regular part of your life. You can actually learn to enjoy it. I have made a lifelong commitment to stay healthy by balancing my eating with exercise. I eat good things and I eat bad things, but I can't eat a whole lot, so it's not really too bad. But I exercise to counter act the bad eating. I am trying to maintain anyway, so this is what is realistic for me. It's great that you have such a positive attitude going into this, it will definitely serve you well on this journey. It's likely the determination speaking right now. I was super motivated and determined pre-op because I was 100% ready to go through with this. Keep that positivity and I wish you the best of luck

[dale]

I am 21 months post surgery, so I can tell you that you will have times when you are super-compliant and other times not so much. The thing you need to realize is that after your surgery, you cannot help but be compliant. Your stomach is healing, and it's very tiny! As time goes by, it will be easier to eat more food at each sitting, and your stomach will stretch out some. That's when the weight loss slows down some, you can take in more food, etc. but still, your stomach will not stretch out as big as it was before, so it will still be restricting your volume of food. Where you have to be really careful is with what kind of food you put into that smaller stomach. You can fill it with healthy protein and vegetables or you can fill it with crap food. Either way, you can only eat a certain amount.
The main lesson I have learned after almost 2 years of living with my sleeve is just that: I have to live with my sleeve. I'm going to have this stomach for the rest of my life ( a long time, I hope!) and I can never go back to eating like I did before. That's a good thing! But my sleeve cannot do it alone---my brain's cooperation is essential! I know I am going to have days when I "work the sleeve," and there will be days when I screw everything up. But I can't get down on myself.

Bottom line: of course you will struggle. It's part of the deal. I don't know of anyone on this forum who hasn't struggled in some way or other at some time or other. How do you deal with it? You realize you are just a human being, you will falter at times, and you just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on the wagon. Most of all, don't be hard on yourself. And come to the forum here. People are so encouraging, and will help you when you need it.

Best of luck to you. You will do great, I am sure of it!